Mirror of the Spirit
by Kannari23
Summary: This is my first story. I can't guarantee its greatness because, if you don't have a certain mindset, you might end up slicing your computer in half. Just saiyan. -On hiatus because:life-
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, I actually looked up the definition of a "Mary Sue." Turns out the term was coined through a Star Trek fan fiction. Huh. Fancy that. Anyway, I'll do my best to make this ever-so-slightly interesting. Just bear with me (and if you're a Chuck Huber fan, go check out The Mechanical Grave and Arbor Day: The Musical.)please.

Insert highly stereotypical disclaimer

(which should not have to be included on a FAN FICTION website if you ask me)

_Spirit Mirror_ \- Chapter One

Prologue

I've never felt like myself.

Is that strange to say? I bet it is. I already screwed this up. What was I thinking, opening with that line? Maybe I should elaborate. A while ago I read that your self is the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. It struck me as odd though. If it's true, then nobody truly knows themselves.

I find that sad.

Apparently though, it doesn't apply very well to myself. I don't surround myself with people. Sure, I've got a job and it does actually require interacting with my boss, co-workers, and customers, but I'm one of_ these_ people: the ones that put out just enough energy to get on with their lives. We're the introverts that people are somehow drawn to. So, lacking better judgment after the thoroughly stimulating conversation we just had on Omegle, you friend us on Facebook and we never speak to each other again.

You know. _Us_.

So, because of this general apathy towards the world, everything in my life stopped surprising me. I had become complacent. Sure I threw my cap in the air at graduation, laughed at humorous internet things, and cried when my parents were mowed down by a semi right in front of me. As I saw their coffins lowered into their graves side-by-side, I started questioning everything I had known. What was the purpose of it all?

I've never been religious.

Sure, I used to go to church with my parents every Sunday. After they died though, I just stopped. I told myself that God hated me(for a while anyway), but then I realized: why would an all-powerful god take his focus away from the busy job of keeping the universe in order to spit on the life of one insignificant person? If I had that kind of power, I'd maybe make myself look a bit more godly in my artist interpretations. I'm sorry, but the "God" painted centuries ago did _not_ meet my expectations. Just saiyan.

You didn't want to listen to this philosophical bullshit though, did you?

You probably think I'm an awfully boring and useless person. I don't blame you. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I did kind of have a bit of a breakthrough a year ago though. It was weird to say the least. Wonderful to say the most. What could beat finding my five people?

Sincerely yours,

**** Rei Kagami ****


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Updated chapter two! Until next time,

_Kannari23_

_Spirit Mirror-_Chapter 2

Do You Want to...Play a Game?

I work at the arcade in Sarayashiki. I see all sorts of people from behind the prize counter. Drunks often come in and blow all their money. Middle school students try to skip school by hiding in the back. The worst by far though, are the _regulars_. They come in here, acting like they own the place, expecting me to give them free tokens and pander to their every need. I let them down as gently as possible(so as not to lose my job) and continue on with my business.

The bell for the door chimes, barely audible above the din of the games. In walks the local punk. I've never actually taken the time to ask his name. The only reason I recognized him was from others' descriptions. Slicked black hair, brown eyes, and a bad attitude- he fit the description well enough. Apparently he just came back from a trip overseas. He used to be a real troublemaker before he went on that trip. I've overheard different conversations about him. Since he's been back, the people around Sarayashiki have been gossiping nonstop. The one recurring theme I found seems to say that he's supposed to be getting married soon. I smiled a bit when I heard it was his childhood sweetheart. It was sweet.

"Kagami...Rei?" I hear a gruff voice pull me from my thoughts.

"Yes?" I ask, looking up into a pair of brown eyes. "How can I help you sir?"

"I need a set of a hundred tokens," He says unceremoniously slapping the required amount of money on the counter. A good number of people jump at the noise it makes, but quickly go back to their games when they see the source. I reach down and grab a box of tokens from behind the counter. Setting them down next to the register, I put his money in the right slot and count out his change. I hand him his tokens and change and give a short bow.

"Thank you for your business."

He gives me a short nod and starts to turn around when a shrill voice pierces the air.

"YUSUKE!" screams a young woman near the entrance, her long brown hair flying around her. She wore a burgundy, knee-length dress with a white peter pan collar. Her matching shoes stomped towards the man I had just talked to. With every step she took I could see a jolt rack the man's body.

"K-Keiko! Long t-time no see!" He says tripping over himself a bit. I guess this must be the girl he's marrying. She seems nice.

"You get back in town and the first I hear of it is a call from Botan!" She yells at him. A few patrons of the arcade turn their heads to watch the confrontation, but I assume most of the others would prefer to keep theirs. I leave my place from behind the counter to break up their fight, but am halted by my boss, Shin. He goes up to the couple and kindly asks them to leave. That earned him a glare from Yusuke, but the young punk left anyway. They didn't go far though. I could still see them through the glass doors at the front of the arcade. Keiko was crying when, all of a sudden, Yusuke swept her into his arms and carried her off bridal style.

"Weird," I say under my breath.

"Kagami-san, you can go home; your shift's over." My boss, Shin, tells me before ducking back into his office. A nice guy and all, but he looks down on me a lot. Literally. He's about half a meter taller than me, with limp, black hair that falls over one side of his angular face. To be honest, he looks slightly malnourished, and his clothing hangs off his slender frame. Nevertheless, his grey eyes continue to look down on me as he informs me of the time limits of my shift.

"Thank you sir," I reply before taking off my apron. I hang it on the hook behind the counter and let my hair out of its ponytail. It tumbles down my back reaching just past my shoulder blades. My long bangs block my vision until I tuck them behind my ears. I grab my bag and walk out the door, ignoring the whines from the squeaky hinges. I check my phone for messages as I walk down the narrow sidewalk. A reminder tells me that I need to get groceries.

I look at the sky, already turning dark, and sigh. The convenience store is only a couple blocks away, so it won't take too long. I quicken my pace as I realize that it closes in half an hour. I get there in under five minutes and go about my business. Until someone stops me that is.

"Do you know where I can find the bullion cubes?" A tall man with a curly orange pompadour asks me. I look down and realize I'm wearing the same colour blue as the store's employees. Just my luck.

"I'm sorry," I tell the towering man. "I don't actually work here, but I'm pretty sure the bullion cubes are down that aisle."

"Oh, my mistake, thanks anyway though!" He kindly says as he strode off in the direction I pointed. "You're gonna love my cooking, Yukina!"

I wonder who he was talking to. I quickly finish my shopping, pay, and exit the store. I plug in my ear buds and select a _Regina_ Spektor playlist. Shopping bags in hand, I step to the light beat of the music as I go. I glance upwards to the moon, now higher than the rooftops, and catch a glimpse of a small figure. _Must be one of those parkour enthusiasts,_I think to myself as I watch the dark figure glide across the rooftops with stunning agility.

I must not have been paying much attention to where I was going because, before I know it, I've crashed into someone. It takes me a second before I realize what happened. I bend down to help the person pick up their papers, incoherently mumbling something about being sorry in the process. I pick up a good sized stack of documents and observe the person I had so rudely run into. I was met with a well tamed mane of red hair, framing a small face with a pair of large emerald eyes.

"Thank you very much for your help," He said kindly, pulling me out of a daze once again.

"I'm sorry for causing you to drop everything in the first place!" I apologize with a deep bow. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"No miss, it's quite all right, all my papers seem to be here, so there's no need." The tall man says, standing up. "I'll be on my way then. Have a good night."

He turns and walks off in the opposite direction. Before he turns the corner though, he sends me a wave with a small smile. He seemed nice. The rest of my walk home ended up relatively uneventful, considering it was only a few blocks further. I rent a small apartment on the outskirts of Sarayashiki that borders the next town over. It's nothing special since it's all I can afford, but it's home for now. I'm hoping to find a better place when I save up enough money for a security deposit. Hopefully that will be soon.

I climb the steps up to the fourth floor, walk to the door at the end of the corridor, and stare up at the unlucky number that greeted me everyday. I turn my key in the lock and open the heavy metal door. I take my shoes off as I step inside and quickly deposit my groceries on the counter, catching a glimpse of an old family photo on the opposite wall. Two adults: One male and one female, one American and one Japanese, both smiling down at a young brunette child who appeared to be an even mix between the two. Turning back towards the door, I flip the bolt lock._Home again__,_ I mentally sigh, sliding down the cool metal doorframe.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: If you haven't already noticed, I like to take things slow. Yes, this story _is_ in the _romance_ category. Almost every(_Almost!_ The word "almost" was mentioned!) story on this site skips what makes or breaks a love story: _Falling in love._ So, I hope you'll forgive me if I don't load Rei into a bazooka and aim her at one of the guys' hearts.

That's another thing. If you put who ends up with who in the description, yes it will help people find your story, but it takes(almost) all the fun out of the story. I'll leave you that to chew on.

Savor it,

_Kannari23_

_Spirit Mirror_\- Chapter Three

As if I didn't already have enough problems...

* * *

I blinked against the light that threatened my slumber. Tugging the sheets up over my head, I attempted to reenter the world my unconscious mind had created. It unfortunately stayed out of my mind's reach. Too bad. I had hoped to dream a bit longer before facing reality.

Finally giving into the light, the covers were flung from my body, landed in a crumpled heap on the floor, and I greeted the morning with... and annoyed grumble. Stumbling a little as I stand and stretch, I groggily made my way to the bathroom. My hands went straight for the shower faucet. I brushed out my hair and undressed as I waited for the water to heat up. Quickly adjusting the temperature, I stepped into the onslaught of falling water. The steam swirled around me as water traveled down my body. A blissful ten minutes ended as I cut the water off and grabbed the ever-patient towel off its rack.

I rubbed my hair with it before drying the rest of my body. Wrapping myself with the now slightly damp piece of cloth, I took the side of my hand to wipe away the fog from the mirror. I was met with tired brown eyes and a mouth that refused to smile this early in the morning. I grabbed my earrings off of the counter and stuck them through the holes left to me by my mother. She thought getting her six-month-old's ears pierced would stop people from mistaking it for a baby boy. It didn't. I quickly brushed my teeth, only straight after years of corrective dental work, and exited the bathroom to find a suitable outfit for the day. I settled on a mid-thigh length shirt with three-quarter sleeves paired with white and grey ombre leggings. I grabbed a hair-tie off my dresser and pulled the still damp mess of brown into a sloppy bun. My bangs threatened to fall out of it as I leaned down to get my bag.

Leaving my bedroom, I heard the kitchen calling to me, begging for me to use some of the groceries I had bought. I felt an odd look form on my face when the thought crossed my mind. Had so much really happened yesterday afternoon? Normally I don't dwell on the past, but something about the people I "met" didn't sit right with me. If I had to describe it, it would be like living in a world drawn by a team of three-year-olds. Instead of being a jumbled mess of colorful body parts and clothes- the punk, the man with the pompadour, the poor guy I knocked down in my daze, and even the silhouette on the rooftops, all seemed to stand out with immeasurable clarity. To put it simply: It seemed like they didn't belong.

I blinked out of my daze of ideas, only to find my feeble attempt at breakfast extra-super crispy. I let out a sigh, dumping the poor egg in the garbage bin. Note to self: _Never cook on a full mind._

* * *

_After food has been successfully administered:_

I quickly slid on my black flats as I headed out the door. Making sure I locked my apartment, I slid my key into my bag and set off down three flights of stairs. Only when I reached the bottom did I realize: It's my day off.

Damn.

I could go back upstairs and ponder the enormity of the universe, but then actually getting out of bed at all would have been a wasted effort. I _would _call up a friend or two, but... well, you know. I mulled over my options for a good five or six minutes(I don't really have anywhere to be anytime soon.) until I settled on the most appealing option: Wandering.

Taking into account that Sarayashiki probably isn't the best town for such an activity, there really wasn't anything better to do. At least, that's what I told myself as I wandered through the streets. This is definitely a foot traffic town. The number of cars I've seen since moving here is pathetic. Apparently I didn't need to stay home to contemplate the universe in all it's complexity. I could do that just as well on my feet. Well, I could until a growl from my stomach interrupted my locomotive of thought. I glared at the unwelcome sound, but quickly realized that I was in luck. A near heavenly smell wafted down a side street I would have missed had I not been hungry. I trod slowly, trying to isolate the source of the odor. My quest came to an end as I entered an establishment with a familiar name: Yukimura Noodle Shop.

It looked to be a small, family owned restaurant and had obviously gained a certain popularity in Sarayashiki. The lunchtime crowd had been filing out of the place as the hour passed. I took a seat at the counter since it left enough space around me to not feel boxed in. To me, that is one of the _worst_ feelings: Being trapped.

A cheery, "What can I get you?" pulled my attention back to the matter at hand: Food.

"Whatever the special is will be fine," I told the somehow familiar waitress. I'm not picky about food.

"I'll get that to you soon!" She said, turning to give my order to the chef.

I watched her work for a while, trying to remember where I've seen her. It had to have been recently. I snapped out of my trance when she brought me a steaming bowl of beef udon.

"This is great," I said unintentionally after swallowing my first bite of the dish.

"I'm glad you like it!" She replied, staring at me with large brown eyes. Her long, brown hair flew around her as she whipped around, back to her work. Then it clicked.

"Hey, aren't you-"

"Keiko!" A certain male voice cut in. "Be a doll and bring me the usual?"

"Why should I? I'm still mad at you." She answered him defiantly, a vein pulsing in her forehead.

"Oh, wait," He said, turning to me. One of my eyebrows raised when he held up what looked like a girl's compact mirror next to my face. Looking back and forth between it and me, it seemed as if he was making a comparison. "Huh, so you're her. Here I thought I was gonna have to walk all over town. Keiko, put that order on hold, I've got a case."

"What?" I'm confused.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I have no legitimate excuse for not updating. Take me to the town square and stone me to death. Do whatever you see fit with me, but I _must_ inform you that I tried something different with this chapter: I changed my writing style. Only _slightly_, mind you, but I believe it was necessary. Yusuke didn't even finish middle school(9th grade), so I'm nearly certain that, if he has trouble keeping up with _Kurama_, he'd certainly be having issues with _my_ vocabulary. I honestly don't think I could have written this chapter from Rei's mind. It just wouldn't have flowed as well. I can only do so much with what I have to work with. My mind has already skipped ahead in the story(without leaving any details on how to follow). To put it simply: I'm blocked. Because of the nature of my story, I can't even ask for suggestions. Anyway, I'm sorry for the wait, what with my slow typing and all. Please enjoy,

_Kannari23 _

_Spirit Mirror_ \- Chapter 4

A Bit of Information

(Since there's really no elegant way to put this:) Yusuke's P.O.V.

A small, beeping sound (of all things) woke me up from my otherwise uninterrupted early-morning nap. It took me a while to realize that it was the communication mirror that Botan had given me all those years ago. Nostalgia aside, the beeping was starting to piss me off.

"What the hell, Botan?!" I yell at the tiny screen. "Don't you know what time it is?"

"Do _you_?! It's half past noon you dummy!" The blue-haired spirit guide yells back.

"Huh, and here I thought it was only around ten…" I mumble, almost to myself.

"All joking aside Yusuke," Botan says in a serious voice. " Koenma has a case for you."

"So, you're saying you still haven't found a new spirit detective to boss around?" I ask, feeling a bit irked.

"If you would have let me finish, I could have told you the details of the case," Botan tells me. I can see that she is_ not_ amused. An image of a girl flashes onto the screen. "This girl is your target. You are to do nothing more than bring her in for questioning. We've already got Kurama and Kuwabara looking for her."

In other words, Hiei couldn't be bothered.

"So how come you need me? It looks like they've got it covered."

"When have we ever not needed you?"

"_Gee_, I dunno. How 'bout the time I died and you didn't have a place for me?!"

"You're alive now aren't you?!" Botan asks, a vein pulsing in her forehead. "Just GO!"

Geez. And people say_ I_ have a temper.

* * *

"What?" Asks the brunette seated in front of me. I gotta say, she doesn't look like much. Matter-of-fact, she's the _last_ person I would expect to pose a threat.

"Just come on," I tell her, hoping to get this over and done with. What? I have sleep to catch up on. Taking care of everything in Raizen's territory for three years really takes it outta me.

"If you hadn't noticed," My attention switches back to the small girl in front of me. I shouldn't really say small though; she's probably a good fifteen centimeters taller than Hiei. "I'm in the middle of a meal. It would be rude of me to let such nice food go to waste."

"You're kidding…" I mumble. "Well hurry up then! I don't have all day!" I hear the chime at the front door of the Yukimura's shop ring.

"Wha- Urameshi?!" Comes a gruff voice from behind me. "How'd you get here before me? I thought I was the one with the most sensitivity…"

"Well, why don't I rent you and your sensitivity a nice chick-flick and buy you a tub of ice-cream to watch it with?" I ask my grumbly carrot-topped friend with a smug grin on my face.

"Why you- you haven't changed a bit Urameshi!" Kuwabara yells, putting me in a headlock. "You still have the heart of a demon!"

"Do they do this a lot?"

"Yes, unfortunately." I can feel Keiko's glare burning a hole in the back of my shirt. Kuwabara lets me go immediately, sensing the change in the atmosphere.

"I'm done." The girl says all of a sudden, sliding off her stool.

"Is that her?" Kuwabara asks me as he taps my shoulder.

"What, didn't you get a picture from Botan?" I ask, confused.

"Hey," The girl says, snapping her fingers in front of my eyes. "You said we were going somewhere? Let's go then, I'm bored."

"Yeah, come on," I turn to leave, waving goodbye to Keiko. "I'll catch you later."

_Maybe._

No sooner than setting one foot outside the Yukimura's shop, do I see Kurama making his way toward us. "Hello Yusuke. Nice to see you again. You as well, Kuwabara."

"So, I guess we won't be seeing much of Hiei?" I ask him, not surprised the runt didn't want any part of this.

"No, unfortunately," Kurama sighs.

"Why's that?"

"His jagan would make an interrogation much easier." The fox-demon explains. I feel like he does a lot of that.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Kuwabara yells behind us. Kurama and I turn to see what he's yelling at and find our target walking away.

"I'm bored!" She calls back.

"Get back here!" Kuwabara yells, chasing after her. I watch his sorry excuse for a run as he catches up to her. When he finally catches her she says something to him(I'm too far away to hear) that pisses him off. Eventually he brings her back and we set off on our way.

I keep sneaking glance at her over my shoulder. I still haven't seen any kind of supernatural powers or _anything_ from her. Isn't that what the Spirit detective normally handles? This girl's about as normal as they come.

"This way," Kurama says, pulling me from my thoughts. He leads us down an alley and I keep an eye on the girl as she trails behind. Kurama opens a door at the end of the alleyway and walks through the bright light coming from it. We all follow him, but I make sure the girl goes before me. The other side of the door leaves us in Koenma's throne room.

"Please have a seat Miss Kagami," I hear his squeaky little voice say. The girl, I guess her name must be Kagami(weird), takes the only chair in front of Koenma's desk. My "boss" swivels his fancy chair around to speak to his guest. She beats him to the punch though.

"Aren't you a little young to be a LARPer?" Are the first words out of her mouth.

"What?" Koenma asks, obviously surprised by her comment. I'm not sure that _I_ even know what a "LARPer" is.

"That's what this is, right?" She asks bluntly. "Though, I think the whole 'interior decorating' thing is a bit much."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I ask, more than confused now.

"Live-Action-Role-Playing?" She says like we know what she's talking about, but forgot about it at some point. "I'm surprised one of you got your little brother in on it though. He doesn't look any older than three or four."

I hear Kurama stifle a laugh behind me. At this point, I'm expecting smoke to start coming out of Koenma's ears. I didn't even get him this pissed.

"Enough," Koenma finally says, silencing Kagami. "Now if you'll let me explai-"

"Wait!" Kagami interrupts. Koenma looks like he wants to rip her head off. "When do I get my character sheet?"

"Forget your delusions of a game and pay attention!" Koenma yells, bearing his teeth. No wonder he always got his way. He throws tantrums.

"Do you know why you're here Miss Kagami?" "I can't say that I do, sir. I was just looking for something to do and this guy-" She jerks her thumb at me. "Asked me, with nonexistent manners might I add, to come with him."

Koenma lets out a sigh before speaking again. "Miss Kagami, do you know what _Kagami no Rei_ means?"

She looks like she's thinking for a second before she says, "Mirror of…Spirit?"

"Do you recognize the significance of that?"

"Nope." She says, tilting her head to the side. I hear Kuwabara groan behind me. Apparently even_ he_ got it before her. "Should I?"

"YES! It's_ your_ name!"

"Well you don't have to yell. Besides, there isn't any 'no' in my name and, if you order my given name first, it actually reads: _Rei Kagami_." factly. "Really though, why should my name matter? I thought I was supposed to play a character!"

And we're back to this.

"You're _still_ not getting this?!" Koenma sound fed up.

"No! Nobody's given me my character sheet yet!" She actually sound truly upset over this.

"George! Get me her file!" Koenma yells for his right-hand ogre. The blonde-haired, blue-skinned oni comes rushing in yelling, "I have it right here Lord Koenma!"

I still can't imagine that "kid" as a lord.

"Here," he says, snatching the folder from the ogre and handing it to Kagami. "I'm sure everything you need to know will be in there."

"Where is my HP? And my character class? And why are my character's powers so lame?!" She whines.

How long is she going to keep this act up? Spirit World's obvoiusly got something on her, so why not give in and stop all this Dungeons and Dragons bullshit?

"This will be the worst character I have ever played(and probably the most poorly written), but what the hell? What's our first quest, _Lord Koenma_?"

"You will be staying at Master Genkai's mountain fortress as a prisoner until further notice." Koenma says obviously playing along so she'll understand. "These three men will act as your guards until their fourth team member arrives."

"Wait, what?!" I blurt out. "Hey Koenma, I just got back! Keiko'll kill me if I go off again! Just how long will this take?"

"No more than a few weeks if it all goes according to plan, I assure you," Koenma tells me "calmly," a vein pulsing in his otherwise smooth forehead.

I sigh. "Fine."

"Oh," Kagami says suddenly. "I need to tell my boss and my landlord that I'll be away for a while!" She flips open her cellphone and stares at it, confused. "I'm not getting any signal here. Is it alright if I leave now. Just email me where to meet tomorrow!" She gets up and leaves the way we came in, not even waiting for an answer from the ruler of the Spirit World.

"Kurama," Koenma says as Kagami exits. "I'm trusting you to keep an eye on her until tomorrow. It's quite unfortunate that she's unaware of her nature."

I'm not so sure it's a good thing that the last sentence was quieter than the rest. I have a feeling we're going to have our hands full the next couple of weeks.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I'm completely and entirely sorry! Just know that I'm an _awfully_ slow typist, and I dread typing more than a sentence an hour. That aside, I feel like my writing deteriorated since the last chapter and it hasn't set well with me. I write these chapters up before I type them. For every single one, I grill myself wondering if what I had written was really any good. Then I found this quote by Benjamin Franklin(the asshole in Assassin's Creed Three that asks you to find all the pages to his Farmer's Almanac): "Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing."

I _really_ like that. That, and I tried reading another story earlier, and cringed before I hit the back arrow. So, before I turn this author's note into a story in and of itself, I leave you with chapter five. You all get to choose the title of this one. Enjoy the rigorously edited words, courtesy of yours truly,

_Kannari23_

_Spirit Mirror _\- Chapter Five

Arrival -or- Things I Hate 

(your choice)

Now, just because I act the part, it doesn't make me stupid. I knew it wasn't a game from the moment I saw the ogre. _Nobody_ does a make-up job _that_ well. Not even me.

So, with my newfound knowledge, I waited for the bus. Since I had given Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara my number the night before, they had no trouble contacting me. To tell you the truth, I'm glad to have a bit of excitement in my life. I've jumped on an interesting bus, so let's see where it takes me. Hopefully it's the one that takes me to Master Genkai's compound, otherwise: I'm on the wrong bus.

I start to question what I'm doing when I get off at my stop in the middle of nowhere, duffel bag draped over my shoulder. I turn and watch the gas-guzzling machine drive off into the distance, almost sad to see it go.

"Hey, look! She made it!" Yells an obnoxious voice from behind me. Yusuke.

"Well, hello there Mr. Guardsmen. Are you here to take me into custody?" I play along with our sort-of-game.

"Right this way, Miss," Kurama gestures toward a narrow path with one hand, leaving the other tucked neatly behind his back. Ever the gentleman I guess.

"I don't see Kuwabara anywhere. Has he gone ahead?" I kind of miss the big guy.

"He's busy getting your 'cell' ready," Kurama explains as we walk down the meandering dirt path. It's not long until we come to a particularly large set of somethings that I absolutely loath. Stairs.

"We don't _really_ have to walk up all these, do we?" I ask, doubtful the summit can be seen from my current vantage point.

"I'm afraid so," Kurama replies, sensing the waves of pure hate I'm sending towards the stone structure, desperately wishing them to burst into flame. "Would you like me to take your bag, Miss Kanagi.?"

"Nah, I've got it," I tell the pleasant red-head. "But I'd appreciate it if you'd just call me Rei."

"Alright Miss-"

"And drop the 'miss'; you make me sound older than I actually am." I shoot down his attempt at respect. I feel kind of bad about it, but I get the feeling he's endured worse than my blatant jabs.

"How old are you anyway?" Yusuke asks as we start up the mountain of stairs. Sunlight beams down through the trees as I try to remember my age.

"Eighteen." I finally answer. I find that even months after my birthday has gone by, I have trouble convincing my brain that I'm a year older(closer to death). I guess it's because I've never done anything memorable to mark the occasion. I'll have to change that this year.

"So you're the same age as Yusuke then." Kurama remarks.

"Wait, what?" I ask, ejecting the NOCLIP idea I was contemplating to battle the stairs. "I thought he was more around fourteen."

"I'm right here you know!" Yusuke grumbles.

"Sorry, but you've gotta admit, you look pretty young."

"Yeah, yeah, let's just go." He says, taking the steps two at a time. I look up at the seemingly endless amount of stairs, but realize: We've already conquered half of them. Conversation really _is_ a good way to pass the time. Who would have thought?

The rest of our trek(unfortunately) passes in awkward silence. I shudder at the thought of breaking it, but at the same time I want to _so badly. _So, _so badly._ My torment comes to an end as we reach the peak though. Kuwabara rushes out to greet us, leaving a small, traditionally dressed girl in his wake.

"Guardsman Kazuma Kuwabara, reporting for duty!" He yells, bringing a hand to his forehead in mock salute.

The girl behind him finally catches up and says, with a bow, "Welcome."

She stands straight again, and I can't help but notice how innocent she looks in comparison to the me surrounding her. Her teal hair and red eyes strike me as a bit odd, but hey: to each their own.

"Has Hiei arrived yet?" Kurama asks turning to Kuwabara.

"Yeah, but he's off sulking in a tree somewhere," The tall man answers, scratching the back of his orange head. "As soon as he got here, he was all: 'Stay out of my way, fool' and he dashed off somewhere."

"He'll show up when he gets hungry," Yusuke says, stepping around his friend.

"So who's this 'Hiei' you're all talking about?" I'm not feline enough to be curiosity's next victim.

"You'll meet him soon enough," Kurama replies, basically telling me to be patient. I feel like he's getting back at me for earlier. "Though I must warn you: he doesn't take very kindly to strangers, or anyone really."

"You talk about him like he's a cat."

"He might as well be," Kuwabara says. "Hiei's always in a bad mood, and you can never get more than two sentences out of him at a time."

"I'll be sure to steer clear of him then," I say, checking my surroundings for anyone in a pissy mood.

"Why's that?" Kuwabara asks me, drawing my attention back to the conversation.

"I have a tendency to irk people like that," I say with a smile. "The last thing I want to know is make enemies."

"Rei, aren't you _already_ our 'prisoner'?" Kurama asks, finally using my given name.

"Oh," I breathe. Sometimes I'm _so_ dense it's not even funny. "I completely forgot about that. Aren't I supposed to be in a 'cell' somewhere?"

"Right this way," The girl with the red eyes catches my attention. I see her gesturing for me to come along with her. I wave goodbye to the guys and jog up to the small girl. Her sweet voice says, "Please follow me."

"And you would be?"

"My name is Yukina."

"Oh, I'm Rei." We walked in awkward silence across the stone courtyard until we reached a low, one-story building, resembling some sort of army dwelling. At least the inside did. The outer shell of the building looked like any other traditional Japanese home. Yukina led me to a door at the end of the hall and gently slid it open. Inside, I found a bare room with a large window that nearly ran the length of the outer wall. A futon lay folded in the corner with a few pillows set beside it. I walked in and set my bag down next to the open closet. I made a mental note not to unpack just yet. It's just a feeling I guess, but I'm not sure I want to make myself too at home just yet. "This is great, Yukina."

"Kazuma and I spent the afternoon getting everything ready in order for your arrival, Kagami-san." Yukina informed me. "It took us a while to dust, but this _is_ the room with the largest window. I hope you don't mind that I picked it for you."

"No, not at all. Like I said: it's great, in fact, the window is a plus! I can see across the whole courtyard."

Speaking of which, a small figure, cloaked in black, was making its way across the area now. He walked straight up to the rest of the guys, seeming to be every bit their equal(aside from the height difference, of course). From what I could tell from this distance, they were having some semblance of a conversation. That is, until the little one apparently said something to piss Kuwabara off. The ginger then took a swing at the person who was no longer there. I look for the dark figure until my eyes find him standing a good five feet away from his assailant. _When did he move?_

"Hey, Yukina..." I turn to ask the girl, but she's gone and left a closed door in her place. I go over to it and attempt to slide it open, but it won't budge. I guess I _am_ a prisoner after all. I kick my duffel bag into the open closet out of frustration. Seeing as how that solved absolutely nothing though, I sat down on the tatami covered floor and stared out what might as well have been a gaping hole, covered by a glass pane. Sunlight filtered through the tree outside and made the shadows of leaves dance across the floor in front of me. I could hear inklings of birdsong from my prison as the feathered rats mocked me.

I hate birds.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Um...Hi?

I feel like I do this in every author's note, but: I'm sorry for not updating! Good news though, I'm finally getting to the point in the story where I can actually answer plot related questions. Woo!

Excitement aside, it took me about 3 days to write this chapter. It brings in elements from the second movie, _Poltergeist Report_. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you watch it now and try to ignore the fact that the voice actors are _not_ the same. And how overly dramatic it is. And how they say _Black Dragon Wave_ instead of: _Dragon of the Darkness Flame._

They had one job.

Anyway, all of you that have reviewed so far, you make my day! You have nothing but good things to say when I check my email in the morning. Apparently my good moods have been so noticeable that people have asked me why I was smiling. I have found myself smiling _unconsciously_, and it's all because of you.

Thank you for being brilliant people,

_Kannari23_

* * *

_Spirit Mirror _\- Chapter Six

Um...Okay?

A loud, thumping sound was the unwelcome thing that startled me awake this morning. The light sleeper I was scrambled out of the futon I had made up last night, joints unpleasantly cracking, to answer the beat of a fist on wood. I slide open the door to reveal Yukina standing there, looking just as nice as yesterday.

"Hey," I greet her, the essence of sleep still evident in my voice. "To what do I owe this wake-up call?"

"Breakfast," She said brightly. "And I would hurry before the boys smell the food."

That was all I needed to hear. I thanked Yukina for informing me of the impending doom about to befall a stack of hotcakes, slid the door closed, and proceeded to rush around my room in a frenzy, desperately searching for a decent outfit. I settled on a maroon tank top and a pair of light blue jeans I had pulled out of my duffel, and changed into them as fast as the confines of human speed would allow. Dashing out the door to Yukina, who was waiting for me at the end of the hall, I ran my fingers through my unruly brown mane and pulled it back with a hair-tie. The last thing I want is to go to breakfast with bedhead.

Yukina leads me along the path to the main house, across the court yard. Wherever I hear a bird singing, I can always find her head turned in that direction. Damn rats with wings.

"I take it you like birds?" I ask with a somewhat forced smile. _Anything_ to break the silence.

"They were my only company for a while, so I've grown quite fond of them," She answers, a nostalgic look on her face as her eyes follow their swooping movements.

"Oh," I say, at a loss for words. For once. We walk through the doors of the main house and down the hall to the dining area. Out of nowhere comes more thumping noises. Before I can think that I'm still asleep and am having a repeat wake-up, I turn my head and catch sight of a pile of blue fluff being dragged into a room down one of the side halls. "What was that?!"

Yukina turns around and gives me a blank stare. "What was what?"

"The blue thing in the hall there!" She comes and peers down the hall I'm frantically pointing towards.

"I don't see anything," She says, a confused look replacing the blank one. "Are you sure you're awake?"

"Come on, I'll show you," I say attempting to lead her by the hand. She flinched and drew away. Why? Honestly, it beat the hell out of me. I may have been _slightly_ forceful, but, come on, it was clear to me that something was going on here and she knew about it.

"Nevermind," I sigh, pushing the issue aside. "Let's just get breakfast."

As we continued on our way, Yukina glancing back at me every so often(This girl is _awful_ at keeping secrets.), I shut myself off from everything except the thought of food. I could do with a good omelette right about now. The kind with cheese mixed in. Mmm...

"What do you mean Netherworld?!" A muffled yell sounded, snapping me out of my food fantasy. "I thought we got rid of them!"

That was Yusuke. It sounded like he was arguing with someone, given the gruff tone of voice he was using. As soon as Yukina and I entered though, he clammed up. And by that I mean: zippered, locked, and a thrown away key. I wasn't going to get anything out of him either. Not even a "good morning," I found out as I issued my greeting. Damn.

"Well then, I guess I'll dig in," I say, grabbing a plate, a pair of chopsticks off the countertop, and a seat on the wide windowsill. It looked like it had been modified to be wide enough to sit on. "Itadakimasu."

I adeptly pinched off the first piece of my food and brought it to my lips. Omelette. Not cheesy, but any omelette was better than none. I swallow the fluffy, yellow food and ask, to whomever may be listening, "So what's the Netherworld?"

Yusuke started choking on his orange juice.

"Aw, you thought you were being discreet with your _yelling_?" I ask mockingly before breaking off another piece of my breakfast. "How stupid do you think I am?

"What are you talking about?" Yusuke asks after his coughing fit, obviously trying to smooth something over.

"Just spit it out," I tell him as I stand. "It gets painful for me to watch people when they_ try_ to hide things from me."

"You mean you really don't know?" Yusuke gawks at me. Like _I'm_ the dense one here?

"Well considering the _complete bullshit_ that was in the folder Mr. High-and-Mighty-Toddler handed me," I mused. "No."

"Perhaps it would be best to tell her, Yusuke," Kurama intervenes. "It could be in everyone's best interest."

"Yeah, what he said!" I agree, moving to Kurama's side of the room. I raise my hand to put it on top of his shoulder (all buddy-like), but, once again, my actions are thwarted by a very noticeable flinch.

"Okay, what the hell? First Yukina, now you! Is there some disease I have and don't know about? Is _that_ what you aren't telling me?"

"No, Kagami-san, it's nothing like that!" Yukina interjects, suddenly deciding to play an active role in thoroughly freaking me out.

"Then what?!" I snap, backing away from the three people that suddenly seemed to surround me. "Both of you flinched when I tried to touch you. Why?"

I kept my distance from the lot of them, reversing until I could feel the edge of the windowsill on the backs of my thighs. Just then something black flashes into my right eye's field of vision. He lands on the porch with a small "tmp" and slides the door open.

Now if I weren't as confused as I was, this next bit probably wouldn't have happened. What can I say? I'm stupid.

"Who are you?!" I swing my arm around to point my left index-finger at the newcomer. He doesn't even turn towards me when he slaps my hand away and says, "Don't point unless you want to die, fool."

I didn't hear him though. I had already collapsed to the floor in a fit of crippling pain. "Ow" didn't even come close to describing what felt like searing flames coursing throughout my body. I want to insist that I mumbled something intelligent, but the only sound that came out of my mouth was a choked gasp as tears streamed side ways down my face.

"Hiei, what did you _do_?" Muffled yells permeated my consciousness as I writhed about the floor in pain. I tried to curl into a ball to protect my self from whatever outside force was causing this. I quickly realized that it was an inner stimulus when I felt my _bones crunching_.

"Hn." Comes an unexpectedly nonchalant response, considering I'm lying at the speaker's feet, my back arched in pain. "I barely tapped her."

"What...the...fuck..." I curse through gritted teeth. "Did...you _do_?!"

"Whoa," Yusuke says as though I suddenly drew his attention. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Yusuke, must you always be yourself?" Kurama asks, annoyed. I had to tell by the sound of his voice since my eyes were squeezed shut. As though that would protect me.

"Yeah, but apparently Rei doesn't."

_What?_ I ask myself, too blinded by pain to think straight anymore.

"Looks like Koenma was wrong," I hear through my currently pain riddled ears. "Or at least only half right."

I creak open my eyes again as the pain slowly ebbs away. I ease myself into a sitting position, my limbs feeling awkward and rubbery as I maneuver them. I bring my right hand to my forehead as I attempt to blink away my blurred vision. "Nobody thinks to help the girl screaming on the floor?"

"Not unless you enjoy burning pain," Kurama answers vaguely, his voice piercing my eardrums. I don't remember Kurama being this loud. Ow, just ow.

"Shh... " I tell him, covering my ears.

"Hiei, how good _is_ your hearing?" Kurama asks, softer this time.

"Good enough to hear Kuwabara still snoring."

"Ah," Kurama speaks again. "Miss Rei"(God Damn it, Kurama) "I hope you'll forgive us, but we cannot help you up. If any of us were to touch you, it would cause unimaginable pain."

"No shit,"I say, noticing a low under tone in my voice now. I don't like it. It makes my throat itch.

"Kagami-san, are you alright?" Yukina kneels beside me, worry evident in her red eyes. Hiei noticeably bristles at this. Hmm.

"Yeah," I tell her, using the windowsill to help myself up. As if standing will assure he that every part of my being is most definitely _not_ aching. Nevertheless I don't want her to worry about me.

"Do you even know what happened?" Yusuke asks bluntly.

"Hn, should I?" Wait, what? I most definitely _did_ want to know what happened. _You stop being overly sassy Rei, stop it now,_ I tell myself. I will my next statement to not piss anyone off. I turn towards the window as I raise myself, putting a hand on the frame for balance. Something about my reflection catches my eye though. Possibly the fact that it's _not mine_?

The notion that I'm not met with my normally plain appearance honestly stuns me. My brown eyes have been replaced by a pair of vibrant green ones that seem to hold my gaze. My pale face was frame with spikey, silver hair. Well, not entirely silver. There was a jet-black starburst in the center of the spiked mess. I turn to face the rest of the group surrounding me, finding that we don't exactly see eye to eye anymore. I was short. This was not good.

My discolored eyes narrow in on the now my-sized raven-haired man to my right. "This is your fault."

He raises an eyebrow to where it disappears underneath the headband tied around his forehead. After a beat, he turns and walks away, not even gracing me with a response. I'm not enjoying this. "Anybody want to explain to me exactly what the hell is going on?"


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: A derelict warehouse stands alone in a small rural town. Every once in a while, cars meander by it on the pothole riddled road, the drivers of said vehicles wondering just what happened to the old building for it to be in this condition. In truth the warehouse had once been a proud, family owned business. It was a packing house for fresh vegetables such as green beans, edamame, and sugar snap peas. Until the family lost their money in the 1929 stock market crash. The building then changed hands over the decades (In the late 90's it had been converted into a meth kitchen.), until finally it ended up in the hands of the small town. It had then been auctioned of to the highest bidder at the very reasonable price of $5,000. The party that now owned the property was putting it to very good use.

A series of light steps echoed of the side of the dilapidated warehouse and bounced back to their origin: a resident of the town on her way to a meeting. The girl was only slightly above average when it came to her height at 5'6". Her age could have been anywhere from sixteen to twenty-one, depending on who you asked. A shock of blue caught the light of the setting sun and the offending locks of hair were brushed back by the girl's fingers as she shielded her eyes. A bright green flyer was reflected in the yellow lenses of her glasses. She looked up at the warehouse, wondering if the shady building was really the right place. A sigh escaped her full lips and fogged the glasses that shielded her chocolate eyes from the glaring celestial body in her peripheral vision.

She pulled open the rusty, metal door and stepped though the threshold, into the welcoming, warm glow of the surprisingly homey space. She reveled in the atmosphere as she made her way over to the small circle of folding chairs. The people already seated gazed at her in a sort of understanding as the girl marveled at what had been done with the interior. They had had the same reaction when they first saw the well-loved building. The leader of the close-knit group motioned for the girl to take a seat next to him. She cautiously slid into the rickety chair and the meeting began.

The group leader then said, "I'd like for us to give a grand welcome to our new member. Please introduce yourself miss."

The girl then spoke for what seemed like the first time in years. "My name is Kannari," A short pause as she tried to remember what slogan her flyer had printed on it. "And... I'm a _Perpetually Irregular Updater_."

* * *

_Spirit Mirror _\- Chapter 7

An Explanation

"So," I said, one silvery eyebrow raised. "You're expecting me to believe that you four are the detectives for the 'Spirit World'."

"Yes," Kurama inserted into the pause I had left.

"Which is run by a toddler."

"Yeah," Yusuke begrudgingly agreed.

"And you've saved the world from certain doom..." I counted on my fingers as I recalled the events of their story. "Seven times?"

"YES!"

"Okay then," What reason do I have _not_ to believe them, given what's happened to me? "There's one thing I don't get though."

"What?!" Yusuke asked, exasperated.

"What the hell happened to me?"

"Maybe your powers have some sort of adverse effect." Kurama suggested.

"You guys are still on about the lame set of powers in that folder?" I asked, bewildered. "If I'm supposed to be from 'The Netherworld,' how come I've never heard of it until breakfast?!"

"Beats the hell outta me." Helpful Yusuke. Very helpful. "You'd probably be better off asking Botan or Hinageshi."

"And where would I find either of them?" I inquired.

"Spirit World for Botan and Kazane Shrine for Hinageshi."

"Like I know how to get there?" I asked, starting to lose my temper. Normally, I pride myself in being a relatively calm person, but the vagueness of this situation would get on _anyone's_ nerves.

"Botan has told me a little about your situation, Miss Rei." Kurama offered. I mean, it was kind of ironic, considering I wasn't _really_ a "miss" at the moment. Yes, you read right. No, I didn't stutter. I've a simple question for you: What _gender_ is Hiei? Yeah... anyway: "From what I understand, your specific skill set is from the bloodlines of the Three Demon Gods. Specifically, Majari."

"From what _I've_ understood, any demon that calls itself a god or saint is most definitely not," I said, recalling the details of the Four Saint Beasts escapade(as told by Yusuke and Kurama).

"Quite right," Kurama agreed with a dark look. "His own powers centered on mirroring his opponents' techniques. He only had to see them in action to make them his own. Yours seem to differ and therefore require a different stimulus to activate them."

During Kurama's mini-monologue, I had looked over at my unfinished, and now cold, breakfast with a pang of remorse. That was a good omelette. What a waste.

"...And since it seems to cause you an immense amount of pain, I recommend you not come into physical contact with any of us." No shit, Sherlock.

"Wait," I said, in what I can only assume to be Hiei's voice. "Why hasn't this ever happened before now? My parents have hugged me plenty of times and I never ended looking too much like either of them."

"Maybe it has to deal with whether the person in question harbored any spiritual energy.*" Kurama theorized. To me, it seemed like the ginger was taking a blindfolded shot-in-the-dark, but who am I to judge? "If that _is_ the trigger, then it's no wonder you've never had any past experiences. The human race, as a whole has never been very spiritually aware."

(Don't worry all you aspiring psychics; I'm sure he didn't mean it.)

"How can I be part of a demon bloodline if both my parent's are human?" I cursed myself for using the present tense.

"Maybe you were adopted," Yusuke chime in, still seated in a backwards chair at the breakfast bar. "I mean, the only reason I'm a demon is because of a demon ancestor who decided to wait to rear his ugly head until the second time I died."

I sigh and shift my weight from one foot to the other, impatiently waiting for a _real_ answer to my question. Somehow, I've been too stupid to think up one myself. I look down at my nails and find that they've sharpened into a short set of claws. Huh, fancy that.

"I'm confused on something though," Yusuke continued. "Why are all the colors reversed?"

"Dunno," I answered at the same time Kurama decided to explain. He talked over me dammit. I hate that.

"Well I assume it has to be attributed to the properties of a mirror; one of them being that they _do _tend to reverse things." At least he talked over me with a sarcastic comment. A smart three-year-old could have grasped the irony in that statement before Yusuke did. If I knew Kurama had a sense of humor, I could have revised my opinion of him earlier. I chuckle a bit at the thought of a three-year-old Yusuke.

"Wow, never thought I'd hear that again," Male in question said, Kurama's comment completely going over his head. "I've only heard Hiei laugh the one time, when we fought Sensui. It's weird hearing it now."

"Come on," I said, not buying it. "He must have at least had an evil chuckle when he was a generic villain type."

"Nope, I think I got one 'ha' during the whole fight. The rest of the time, he just yapped." Yusuke told me nostalgically. "That's actually what let me get the drop on 'im."

"His absence of laughter probably has more to do with the brutality of his childhood. Back then, his only solace was the knowledge that his sister was alive and well." Kurama added.

"Oh yeah," I asked. "Who is his sister anyway?"

A sudden sequence of thumps caught my attention as they barreled down the halls. I cringe as the noise gets louder, and therefore, closer.

"YUKINA!" Kuwabara bursts into the room and practically skips over to the kitchen, where Yukina has just started on a batch of scrambled eggs. He all but knocked the whisk out of her small hands when he took them into his own. His eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked up at her and said, "I missed you every second I was asleep. I hope you missed me too, my love."

"Of course, Kazuma," She answered his nonsensical statement.

_Oh, first name basis,_ I thought with a smirk. Somehow, don't ask me why, that caught Kuwabara's gaze and, apparently, he was confused about my presence. Or more accurately, my appearance.

"I knew Hiei had a sister, but why didn't anyone tell me he had a brother too?!" Kuwabara whine in his gravelly voice as he makes his way over to me. I look at Yusuke and Kurama, putting as much fear into my eyes as possible. Hopefully one of them can remedy the situation before I say or do something stupid.

Hopefully.

"Hiei doesn't have any brothers, Kuwabara," Yusuke says right off the bat. I guess we're going with the truth then? "It's Rei."

"You can't fool me," The fool laughed. "You've kept his sister from me, but you can't keep his brother away too. We need to get to him before Hiei corrupts him!"

"It truly is Miss Rei, Kuwabara," Kurama cuts in. Kuwabara was dangerously close to me now. As he closed the final meter between us, Kurama intercepted him. Which would have been great and all. If he didn't accidentally bump me, that is.

"God...dammit...Kurama, " I said as a wave of excruciating pain washed over me. I struggled to keep my footing as I change. That's the best word I have for it: change. I could feel most of the individual changes now on the second go around(Gee, _thanks_ man.).

My scalp started to itch and I could only assume my hair was the first thing to forget its original DNA sequence. I felt like I had the worst sinus cold in the four worlds as my facial features followed suit. The worst (and I mean the absolute _worst_)feeling though, is what came last. I felt like I was being stretched out on a rack(medieval torture devices and such) when my body did a few years of growing in the span of a couple seconds. My bones cracked and my joints popped as they attempted to build Kurama's physique. I found myself breathing heavily by the end of the process, but also a little prideful for having kept my footing(and not crying out, but you know). Yay. Can you feel my enthusiasm?

I opened my new eyes and found the world around me painted in muted colors. Until I blink away my temporary color blindness, that is.

"So... not Hiei's brother?" Kuwabara was the first to speak.

"No," I said in Kurama's steady voice. Speaking of which: I shifted my gaze only to find him gawking at me. "Earth to Kurama?"

"Oh, ah, yes, of course," The red-head sputtered, regaining his composure.

"Kurama," Yusuke said seriously, looking up at his friend. "Never dye your hair green."

I looked for the basis of his argument for that uncharacteristically somber statement and found emerald tresses laying softly on my broadened shoulders. "You just _had_ to be a ginger, didn't you?"

"_I'm_ not even sure where my hair color came from," Kurama answered. "As far as I know, nobody on either side of my human family has ever had this color."

"I guess there's a lot we don't know about our families," I laughed, resting a hand on the shoulder or the demon in front of me. I quickly drew back before I realized... nothing happened. I poked him a couple times to make sure that I'm not hallucinating, but - sure enough - I'm not. "Loophole!"

"It would seem so," Kurama said, grabbing my hand to drive the point home (or stop my onslaught of pokes; you can decide which is more plausible). "Upon closer examination, I feel a miniscule amount of my spirit energy missing."

"My fault?" I asked, scratching the back of my head. "Huh, sorry I guess?"

"It's such a small amount that no one would notice it unless they were looking."

"Ah," I said, shifting in my now _very_ uncomfortable clothing. "Hey, Kurama, I get the feeling you wear a bigger size than I do."

"I suppose I should grab you something of mine to wear then?" He said more than asked, not missing a beat. Then he added pointedly: "Miss Rei."

Asshole. I take back my revised opinion.

Yusuke and Kuwabara had burst into an almost nervous laughter while I stood there, fuming. I wanted Kurama to go back to being supposedly unhumorous. I watched the man walk out the door and heard his light steps as he traversed the network of hallways. The feeling of multiple pairs of eyes fixated on me only seemed to mount in the silent room.

"So, Prisoner," Yusuke finally broke the golden barrier. "What would happen if you touched Kuwabara?"

"Shut up." I snapped at the detective. My clothes were too tight, my everything was sore, and I just wanted my body back. "The last thing I want is to be a walking pile of muscle, no offense Kuwabara."

"Somehow, Kurama doesn't seem all that threatening anymore," Yusuke laughed. "It's a good thing you didn't mirror Youko."

"Oh really," I mused, remembering the story they told me of their Dark Tournament. These guys were a regular hero team, given how many time they'd saved the Human World's ass. Would you look at that? Now I'm starting to use their terminology.

My mind wouldn't stop analyzing the situation I was in, I realized. It almost felt like someone else had their hands in my brain and was controlling which synapses fire and when. Honestly, it made me wonder what else could possibly happen. "I have the most useless set of powers."

"You can say that again," Yusuke practically agreed with me.

"Miss Rei?" Kurama called as he entered the room, a bundle of clothes tucked under his arm. The fuchsia color of the fabric made me wonder where he had found them. "This is my old school uniform; it should suffice for now."

"Thanks," I said as I took the outfit from him. "I'll be back."

I practically sprinted down the corridor to my "cell," sliding the door shut once I was safely inside. I drew the curtains over the window before peeling off the much-too-tight clothing.

_This is just too weird_, I thought as I redressed myself in what looked like the Meioh High School uniform. My now green locks stood out even more against the pinkish jumpsuit. Suddenly though, it occurred to me: Kurama had longer hair than I did. I realize it was kind of a petty thing to brood over, but, when a guy looked more feminine than you did, the action kind of justified itself.

Sort of.

I stood, facing the futon I had failed to put away this morning. Debating whether I should have shown my face- or rather, Kurama's face- again, I felt a headache begin to pulsate behind my eyes. It didn't stop there though. I started to feel woozy, so I gripped the windowsill for balance. I stayed like that for a minute, breathing heavily until the feeling passed. I then pushed myself upwards, back onto my feet again. Just as I was about to turn to go though, the feeling slammed into me, full-force, and I found myself falling towards the welcoming fold of the futon. I plummeted into unconsciousness seconds later.

_Great._

* * *

2nd A/N: Hey, look at that! 2000+ word count! Yay!

I think.

Any who, the little story-type-thing in the first note was kind of another apology. A _huge_ "sorry" goes to those I've kept waiting. To those that are just now starting this awful excuse for a fan fiction, get used to waiting(sorry).

Yes the warehouse was a real place in my town, and yes, it _was_ a meth kitchen at one point.

Don't do drugs children. I hear they're bad for you.

After a few more chapters, I'll start explaining some of the relevant things in earlier chapters that you might not have picked up on. What can I say? I'm a jerk with a large vocabulary.

This chapter was 8 3/4 pages on college rule paper. Yes, I write out everything before I type it. It gives me something to look back on that's tangible. That I can edit little mistakes like tense errors when I transfer it over. That, and I don't actually start writing the next chapter until I receive a few reviews on the previous one. It let's me know what I need to elaborate on. Hence the title of this particular chapter.

So, yeah... I'll be seeing you not too soon,

_Kannari23_


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hey.

Long-time-no-see, yeah?

Yeah. You hate me.

I get it. I hate me too.

On the upside though, I wrote a chapter. That's good right? Chapters are good.

**Shuri Kuran **knows. This ones for you, dear. I like you. You're neat.

Me though, I'm kind of an asshole.

Don't hate me,

_Kannari23_

* * *

_Spirit Mirror_\- Chapter Eight

Dreams? Or Memories?

A very awkward silence had fallen over the kitchen containing the Spirit World Detectives. Granted, one of them was missing.

The leader of the iconic group was slumped forward, resting his upper half on the back of a chair he was straddling. A vein pulsed in his forehead, which should be impossible if you ask a select few Spirit World scientists. Nonetheless, the vein throbbed in near perfect time with the detective's tapping foot.

The tallest of the small congregation was gratefully consuming what his "beloved" had made him for breakfast. It really should've been considered brunch at that point though. His hearty attempts at actually transporting the food to his mouth echoed throughout the otherwise silent room. The so-called "sensitive one" was seemingly unaware of the growing tension that surrounded him.

The third member of the band of heroes had taken up the hobby of pacing. His long, red locks flowed behind him as he made his way from one end of the room to the other, and back again, no doubt contemplating the events that had transpired. It wasn't as though he couldn't wrap his head around the situation. That wasn't it at all. Truly, the kitsune didn't know what was wrong, and _that_ was what worried him.

Our final, rather uncooperative, person-of-interest was found in a tree sometime later, dozing in a towering pine in the middle of the forest. The thought crossed his mind that someone might turn up looking for him, but he hadn't expected to be woken by an all-too-familiar sound he had heard three years prior. The awful screech of the whistle jostled from his light slumber and sent him tumbling down through the branches of the old tree he'd searched for a resting place. From his new spot on the cold earth, he once again shot an angry glare at anything in a ten kilometer radius around himself. It was a gift for anything that could make a sound that caused his ears to bleed.

And, all the while, our unfortunate heroine(That'd be me, in case you'd forgotten.) had been tossing about her futon as a result of the unconscious efforts of her mind to file the events of the morning.

Now, normally, my dreams are all nonsensical bullshit, but every once in a while, I get a few lucid-ish ones. Maybe even a childhood memory or two. A few nightmares were always thrown into the mix. Probably as some unknown deity's way to get their shits and giggles.

I have the most awful luck with dreams. One nightmare is enough per night, right?

* * *

The air hit me like a bucket of ice water as it blasted past me. Or rather, as I blasted through it. Why was I running again?

I struggled to recall my motives as I raced away from the scene of the crime.

Oh. That was it. I had stolen a mirror from the Makai Palace. How could I have forgotten that? Iam _Yokō Kurama_ after all. Normally, little details cannot escape me like that.

Demonstrating such prowess, my keen ears caught the sound of footsteps to my rear. Who was behind me? I darted through the bamboo stalks surrounding my pursuer and I until I found a clearing. Leaves fluttered down from the stalks above us as we shared a smirk over the cleverness of our theft. Kuronue and I, that is.

Tucking the legendary mirror under my arm, we set back onto the road of escape. It turned out that road was a rather twisted one that wound through a bamboo forest. And across the River Styx. And though the field of sorrow. You understand what I wish to convey.

My friend in the black hat had been following me very closely when I heard a small noise.

_Snick._

I turned to see him fall behind me as he chased after his treasured pendant.

"Don't, Kuronue!" I called after him in futility.

"I need it!" Came his distant reply.

I waited agonizing seconds while my partner-in-crime retrieved his jewelry. Just when he had reached the item, a shower of bamboo leaves rained down on him from above, concealing our pursuers. A bamboo stalk was skewering Kuronue's leg when I caught a glimpse of him through the somewhat cleared leaves. He cried out with pain as our eyes met. Several more stalks then followed suit, piercing his arms, chest, and shoulder. I could only watch in disbelief as my friend screamed and bled out.

"Kuronue!" I called, searching for some sign of life from him. Blood gushed up and out of the bamboo stalks as I waited for my dying(if not already dead) friend's response.

"Forget about me, Kurama!" He gasped. "Go! Run!"

With my dear friend's dying words in my ears and unbidden tears making their way to my stinging eyes, I tightened my grip on the mirror we had sacrificed so _much_ for. I was determined now. Kuronue's death would not be in vain. Not if I had anything to say about it.

I dashed away from the gruesome scene, evading my would-be captors as the swiped at me from all sides. I was covered in large gashes by the time I spied the edge of the forest. Once I crossed that threshold, I would be safe from the palace guard that were bound to the forest.

Goal in sight, I made one final leap. My bloodstained clothes picked up the red dust of Makai soil, a signal that I was on safe grounds. Or, at least I thought they were.

"I'll be taking that," Comes a voice. I lay still on the ground, my lungs screaming for air as a result of my adrenaline fueled escape. I hugged the mirror to my chest and angled my body away from the speaker, grinding a few of my cuts into the dirt. The source of the voice was a tall, white-haired demon. I got a good look as he wrenched my steal away from me.

"No," I cough, not realizing the extent of my wounds until now. A huge stripe of red that ran across my chest was revealed to be the cause of my hindered breathing. I propped myself up with one arm in an attempt to get to my feet. The broad-shouldered demon noticed this and, using one of his long legs, delivered a kick to my gut. I was rocketed back until I hit the familiar bamboo stalks. I coughed up a good amount of blood, but the pain was the last thing on my mind. My sights were set on the mirror Kuronue and I had stolen. It was the only thing I had left of him now.

"Who...are you?"

"Someone you'd do well never to cross again," The white-haired entity stated as he casually walked away, even giving a little wave over his shoulder. He soon disappeared into the miasma of the Makai atmosphere.

It could have been minutes or hours that I lied in that spot, simultaneously mourning my friend and agonizing over our lost quarry. Whatever the amount of time, when I finally gathered the strength to haul myself to my feet and began to trudge "home", I couldn't bite back the tears anymore. The Great Thief, the Mighty Fox, was crying like a child.

_How did this happen?_ I thought, clutching at the wound in my chest. Blood had dripped down my white robes and dried, staining them an awful red-brown. A trivial detail to take notice of, given the circumstances.

My eyelids felt heavy as I continued my "walk of shame" and I couldn't help but wonder how much blood I'd really lost. My spirit energy was already dangerously low when we had made our escape and completely gone now as a result of its attempts to heal my beaten body. My life energy had even begun to dwindle as I looked down at myself again. The slice that bit into my chest was deep and had gone through several ribs and punctured one of my lungs. My energy didn't stand a chance against this wound as it still bled.

I don't know when I started to stumble, but it couldn't have been long ago. I staggered like a drunkard towards my den, now less than eighty lengths away. The mouth of the small cave stared out at me, beckoning me and my blood deprived mind. Safety.

I continued to repeat a sort of mantra as I ambled toward the waiting hole in the mountain. Just as I reached the opening though, I doubled over, coughing and hacking up obscene amounts of blood. Not that I could afford to lose anymore. My weakened state persisted after I all but dragged myself through the craggy opening. Delirium tightened its grip on me as my vision became increasingly blurred. I desperately searched the room for something to help my pitiful condition.

_I-I'm going to die..._

No longer having enough life energy to move, I drew on the last of it in a final attempt to save myself. I imagined it flowing out through my wounds, along with the rest of my lifeblood, slowly taking my soul with it piece-by-piece. Soon enough, I was dead. At least, my body was dead.

I myself, on the other hand, was already in my spirit form, searching for a new vessel. Knowing my options were few and far between in the Makai, I found a small breach in the barrier I had known about for years. I was almost glad I was in this predicament. My lowered power levels allowed me to pass through quite easily.

Once through, I found myself surrounded by humans. They bumped and jostled each other in an attempt to reach their destinations somewhat faster. With a sigh at their futile actions and a chuckle at my own, I reached out with the miniscule amount of spirit energy I could scavenge from the polluted air, searching for a body without a soul. I found one almost thirty lengths away, in something humans called a "hospital." I hovered to the window, eager to see the body I would call my own until I could recover, but was almost shocked with what I found.

A woman, young, with black hair and eyes was staring at a small box with grey pictures moving in it. If I had to place an emotion with the expression on her serene face, it would be...love. Something very sparse in the Makai.

She had nothing but love for the little box.

Then I wondered: Why had I been lead here? I knew for a fact that this woman already had a soul. So, why?

The raven-haired woman's gaze shifted from the box, if only for a second. She glanced downward, a small hand on her stomach and a smile gracing her thin lips.

_Oh,_ I realize. _This will have to do for now, I suppose._

* * *

Remember the pacing, napping, and failed attempts at eating?

None of that was going on anymore. A spike in spiritual energy had come from the direction of the girl they hadn't seen for half an hour. Granted, she didn't have all that much energy to begin with, so anything could be considered a spike for her.

Kuwabara had shot up so fast when the wave of reiki hit him that he nearly knocked over his chair. Yusuke, the sensitivity challenged being he was, had a feeling that something was going on, but said feeling was only confirmed by the prior event. Kurama was already out the door and Hiei...I'd like to say he gave a shit, but checking up on someone who'd been in his presence for a meager three minutes was probably the last thing on his figurative list. Perhaps between conversing with Kuwabara and having his toenails slowly peeled away with a Swiss-Army knife.

I didn't hear the footsteps in the halls. They were probably loud.

I didn't hear the relentless knocking at my door. It probably shook the whole frame.

I didn't hear them calling my name or feel Kurama shaking my shoulders to wake me. I'm sure they were repetitive in their pleas since I _do_ have a nice sized bruise from being jostled.

I was practically dead to the world.

Practically.

I could feel... something. I mean, I wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was almost...familiar. Whatever it was though, it woke me up. Later, it was Koenma who'd explain it to me. Something about me subconsciously sensing fluctuations in the reiki around myself. I don't know. I wasn't really listening all that well. I rarely do.

Anyway...

My eyes snapped open and stared up at...three sets of jewels? The closest was a pair of emerald gems, the next: a couple of chocolate diamonds, and the last was a set of onyx beads. I think I still had treasure on the brain. Funny how dreams seem to stick with you for about a minute after you wake up.

I blinked a couple of times and the jewels returned to being eyes. Trippy.

"What are you guys-?" I started, but paused, noticing a familiar inflection in my voice. Then I remember why.

It's _my_ voice.

And, if I had _my_ vocal cords, logic dictates that I must have had _my_ body.

Yay! On every level!

I mentally celebrated until I remembered my audience of three. They were looking at me like I was certifiable.

"I take it I have my body back?" I ask, waiting for some sort of snide remark.

"Sorta," Yusuke answered, making a "so-so" gesture with his left hand. "You're mostly right."

I patted myself up and down, making sure everything was where it should be and nothing, _ahem_, extra was where it shouldn't. Sure enough, everything was in order, but the boys were still staring at me like I'd grown another head.

"Well then, what is it?" Now I was almost certain Yusuke was trying to play some sort of prank on me. He seemed like the type. "Out with it!"

"Well, uh...you're hair color's a bit...off in places," Kuwabara finally answered after an uncomfortable silence.

"The same appears to be true in regards to your eyes, Miss Rei."

I raised an eyebrow as a silent: _Really? You're gonna pull this bullshit with the honorifics right now?_

Kurama calmly stared back, as if to say: _Yes. Yes I am._

_This_ is why I don't have friends.

"So?" I said, brushing the issue to the side. "It's not like I've never dyed my hair before. I'll just wait until the colored bits grow out, then lop off a good 30 centimeters. No harm done."

"Then you'd look like even _more_ of a boy," I heard Yusuke mutter under his breath.

"What was that?" I asked, feeling a vein pulse in my forehead. "Come here and say that to my face you little _shit_!"

At this point, I had clambered to my feet, chased Yusuke out of the room, and was yelling loudly after him through the halls. He was slow enough for me to see the tail end of him as he rounded the corner, but I was running full-tilt and it was all I could do just to keep up. Yusuke was obviously a lot faster than he let on. My lungs finally gave out as I sank to my knees, wheezing. I don't have asthma, but practically sprinting for three minutes straight would have most people gasping for breath.

I was one of those people.

Yusuke wasn't.

Suddenly though, one of the many doors lining the extensive halls slid open, revealing a frail-looking, old woman with graying pink hair. She opened her surprisingly large mouth and loudly asked a simple question, consisting of eight words.

"What the hell is with all this racket?!"


End file.
